ajarnlance wrote:My apologies for turning your home town into a battle ground. I have been defending it from those dastardly French aggressors!! Don't fear.. I will keep it in the Fatherland Hopefully I will get to see the real Aachen one day... what is there to see there?

I have faith in your strong German arms

(But even the Frenchies were to win, you'd be surprised how adaptable Rhinelanders have been in the past when it comes to shifting nationalities. Wasn't all bad when the French ruled the Rhineland 1792-1814... )

Aachen has a nice and (for Americans) medieval town center with lots of small, narrow alleys centered on a cathedral whose foundation was laid by Charlemagne's father in the 8th century. The city hall is also an old impressive building built on the foundations of Charlemagne's old palace. In that city hall, something like 30 emperors of the holy roman empire were crowned as Kings of Germany and you can see quite a lot of old crowns, sceptres and such things that history-curious people love.

Oh and we also have several chocolate factories, which have outlet shops that are really popular with tourists.

You should come visit some day when you have won your triumph for the Kaiser!

1) The British joined the war in late sept.
2) By late oct. still no sign of the BEF on the WF... I start to get suspicious
3) A look at the Mediterranean, with fog of war, reveals lots of blue and green dots sitting on Malta. I send a TB to check it out and find transports there.
4) At this point you calculate the possible destinations (a process which I have been recording in my AAR)
A) The only possible landing sites that do not involve invading neutral countries are along the Dalmatian coast or the Ottoman Empire (and they only just joined the war in late December).
B) He waited so long I was leaning towards the Ottoman option but I would be foolish not to guard against a possible invasion on the Dalmatian coast. Then it is a case of sending armies from other fronts to guard the most logical landing sites. Here is my analysis below:

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My forces were actually not waiting in Cattaro for the invasion. I was in the process of moving an army there because it seemed the most likely place for an invasion due to the proximity to the Serbian army. If he had moved more quickly he could have landed on the beaches unopposed just one turn earlier, although a break out would still have been difficult. You can see from the picture below that my armies were still in the process of moving to Cattaro the previous turn... note I was also guarding against landings further up the coast by having a force on the rail line at Mostar and another back at Sarajevo. Here is the pic from the previous turn...

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I have been reading Projekt Pasha's insightful AAR on the Paradox forum. He went through the same logical process... he spotted lots of blue and green dots in Alexandria... he calculated the most likely landing place for the Brits to be Tripoli. He guessed correctly.

This decision to guard against an invasion on the south coast has cost me the initiative on my two main fronts. Like everything it was a decision to carefully balance risk against potential loss or gain. As a result you will see from my AAR that my stalled assault on Brest Litovsk has turned into a full scale retreat. I wasn't able to reinforce my initial attack... why?... because those troops were on their way to the Dalmatian coast. Also on the WF the battle for Aachen hangs in the balance. The French have moved a huge stack ready to attack there next turn.. I have no more reinforcements to send to Aachen... where are they?? you guessed it... they are on the Dalmatian coast. So even if the BEF offensive fails (which looks likely) the Entente have succeeded in robbing me of the initiative on my two other fronts.

Was the Entente decision to invade along the Dalmatian coast doomed to failure? In my opinion yes. And here's why:

1) They waited too long.. from late sept to late dec is 5 turns... this gave me too long to grow suspicious and to begin to prepare.
2) If you are going to successfully invade you must do so with overwhelming force and not just in one region on a narrow front.
3) The Dalmatian coast is ringed with mountains making a breakout from the beaches very difficult... and it is winter...
4) The Serbian army has to be ready to attack in support of the British landing... currently the Serbs are just sitting there.. they should have attacked all along their front to keep my forces occupied.
5) On both the west and east fronts the Entente should have been ready to launch major offensives timed to exploit my preoccupation with the invasion... after all, I can't be strong everywhere. This hasn't happened.

This is not D Day... it looks more like Dieppe. In preparation for D Day the allies created an entire fictional army around Patton. They attacked in huge numbers on several beaches. They supported these amphibious invasions with air support, paratroops etc.. In other words they used deception and then total commitment to achieve success... as Stonewall Jackson said 'always try to mystify'.

Finally, because I don't want to completely unbalance a good game, I have offered a cease fire for one turn in Cattaro to give the BEF time to get back on their transports and save themselves. It is my honest conviction that if they don't do this they will be annilhilated.

Update, my opponent Jinx has turned down my offer of a temp cease fire. I rather admire his integrity... just like the Old Guard at the end of the battle of Waterloo... completely surrounded they were asked to surrender... their reply was 'merd!' ... and they died where they stood... now it's time to plan the destruction of the BEF...

(But even the Frenchies were to win, you'd be surprised how adaptable Rhinelanders have been in the past when it comes to shifting nationalities. Wasn't all bad when the French ruled the Rhineland 1792-1814... )

Aachen has a nice and (for Americans) medieval town center with lots of small, narrow alleys centered on a cathedral whose foundation was laid by Charlemagne's father in the 8th century. The city hall is also an old impressive building built on the foundations of Charlemagne's old palace. In that city hall, something like 30 emperors of the holy roman empire were crowned as Kings of Germany and you can see quite a lot of old crowns, sceptres and such things that history-curious people love.

Oh and we also have several chocolate factories, which have outlet shops that are really popular with tourists.

You should come visit some day when you have won your triumph for the Kaiser!

I love chocolate!! I also love history and it sounds like Aachen has some very interesting historical sites.. I am also relieved to hear that it escaped the allied bombing in WW2! I will definitely add it my list of must-see places. Thanks for the info. In the game the battle for Aachen has grown out of all proportion... it has become THE focus of the war... perhaps les Francaise want Charlemagne's palace back..

"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

It has importance for our local history (Groningen, Northern Netherlands) as well.

In 1248 local Frisians assisted in besieging the city. They dammed the river, thereby flooding the city in one metre of water.
They did this, so Count William of Holland could be crowned German King. Though William was not a ruler over these Frisians (they didn't have a feudal Lord), they felt sufficient pride for him to be chosen King (albeit only be chosen by the archbishops of Cologne, Mainz and Trier, with strong support of the Pope), that they rallied to support him. They also thought that they could make a bit of a name for themselves as warriors. Also, they hoped for recognition of their independence from Holland by fighting this war.

A local Frisian abbot (Menko of Wittewierum) who wrote a historical chronicle was really enthusiastic about this, and he seems to have been present at the siege and been part of the surrender negotiations.

However, in 1256 anti-King William was in the lead party of a raid against the Frisians during winter, when the marshes were frozen, and when his horse fell through the ice he was killed by the local farmers.

ajarnlance wrote:I love chocolate!! I also love history and it sounds like Aachen has some very interesting historical sites.. I am also relieved to hear that it escaped the allied bombing in WW2! I will definitely add it my list of must-see places. Thanks for the info. In the game the battle for Aachen has grown out of all proportion... it has become THE focus of the war... perhaps les Francaise want Charlemagne's palace back..

It didn't actually escape the bombings, or the fighting afterwards. Aachen was actually the first German town to fall to the western Allies, before the battle of the bulge, and the first town to have a pro-democratic mayor and a free newspaper again. (But the fighting destroyed two thirds of the city, and the Nazis sent agents who assassinated the mayor during the battle of the bulge.)

But even so the RAF left enough old stuff standing that it's still a nice city. We also have to thank them for the much needed opportunity to widen the main roads after the war to cope with increased traffic. Maybe yours and the Entente armies are now giving my city that opportunity, 30 years early? How nice of you! Aacheners should put up statues of von Moltke and Castelnau, holding hands, once the war is over!

Les Francaises weren't too bad as occupiers back in Napoleon's day. People say the French gave the Rhinelanders a taste for individualism and easy living, which the rest of Germany still lacks to this day. As well as a whole bunch of local slang words for "dirty" man/woman affairs.

Heh those bombings i think the aachen was the test bed of allied firebombs and so called firestorm bombings with napalm and explosive Bombs to make firestorm happen and burn all the oxygen so the people in bombshells will suffocate... Really humane way..

Just a quick update... the game is on hold while we do a rerun of last turn... there appears to be a serious bug that is preventing the BEF in Cattaro from gaining military control.. even though they keep winning battles... hopefully we can get a realistic result with a rerun...

"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

ajarnlance wrote:Just a quick update... the game is on hold while we do a rerun of last turn... there appears to be a serious bug that is preventing the BEF in Cattaro from gaining military control.. even though they keep winning battles... hopefully we can get a realistic result with a rerun...

This may not be a bug, MC is gained per day spent in a region after the enemy is driven out. It takes 5 days for a force to land from the adjacent coastal region, so if the BEF is taking something close to 10 days to reach the adjacent region, then 5 to land.

What day did the Battle of Cattarro take place? Was it on Day 15 by any chance? Also, if the Austrians lost but weren't forced to retreat, they will remain in the coastal region and MC won't start transferring. This is part the reason naval landings are so tricky in AGEOD games.

Altaris wrote:This may not be a bug, MC is gained per day spent in a region after the enemy is driven out. It takes 5 days for a force to land from the adjacent coastal region, so if the BEF is taking something close to 10 days to reach the adjacent region, then 5 to land.

What day did the Battle of Cattarro take place? Was it on Day 15 by any chance? Also, if the Austrians lost but weren't forced to retreat, they will remain in the coastal region and MC won't start transferring. This is part the reason naval landings are so tricky in AGEOD games.

I can understand why no MC was gained on the first turn. However, there has now been a second turn with the BEF winning two battles in Cattaro... they haven't forced the Austrian army out but they should have gained some MC for their victories (ironically they gained one NM for one of these battles but still zero MC). The manual states

'If both sides have troops present in a region, neither may increaseMilitary Control until one side assumes an Offensive Posture in an attempt to increase control of the region. If the attackeris successful, the beaten defender will lose a portion of MilitaryControl and either retreat locally, in which case it will stay in theregion, or retreat to an adjacent region if soundly defeated.'

So it is possible for the BEF to gain some MC while my army is still standing their ground in the region.

"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

The BEF continue to fight like lions in an attempt to get off the beaches at Cattaro. They win two battles but the Austrians resist stubbornly. I have now brought a German army to the party. The BEF has failed to gain any MC, despite two victories... clearly a bug in the program that only affects the PBEM game. Their valiant stand in Cattaro has , however, won them international fame and acclaim as the WE gets one national morale point and I lose one.

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Zero military control for the BEF which leaves them in a very dangerous predicament... perhaps even stranger is the inactivity of the Serbian armies... they are just looking on as the BEF get chewed up... not so friendly this 'entente' if you ask me...

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"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

All quiet on the western front.. yes I've been waiting twelve turns to be able to use that one...

The large French garrison inside Aachen is beginning to starve. (Still not sure why Jinx retreated such a large force inside the city). Will the French hurl themselves at Aachen in an attempt to lift the siege??

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Ditto for a peaceful start to the new year in the east. My sieges continue. Looks like the garrison in Lublin starved rather than surrender... my soldiers walked through the breach to find the survivors frozen to death but still at their posts. I now control this depot city but I didn't get the surrender event... I feel cheated... I wanted the morale boost from a surrender.

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The Austrian sector looks frozen .. quite literally. I have been forced to surrender the initiative here while two Austrian armies entertain the BEF in Cattaro...

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Finally, on the diplomatic front the Bulgarians have shifted 25% in my direction because I recognised their war goals... there has been a corresponding shift away from my side in Romania and Greece... but the Bulgarian army is bigger and placed more conveniently to further my plans...

Paying for certain tech advances has left me with the lead in gas warfare.. a first strike here can be very powerful. I lead now in aviation research but still trail the Entente in Infantry tech...

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That wraps it up for now. I am praying that we have finally solved the crisis over what to do about the BEF ... I am going to 'turn the other cheek' while they evacuate. Now the game can move on... and so can the Brits.. back to the friendlier beaches in sunny Malta

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"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

Well the last couple of turns have produced some very strange results. First, the BEF are unable to gain any military control after winning three battles... now an entire French Army plus a Corps have just strolled out of the six-week siege of Aachen without taking a single hit. I'm left holding an empty bag and I guess my chance of a nat morale boost is gone too. This is truly the first time where I find the game has departed completely from reality. I have had two entire armies under two of my best generals laying siege to the large forces trapped in Aachen for six weeks. Their escape is not the result of a relieving army going to the rescue... no... apparently thousands and thousands of soldiers, plus artillery, just tip-toed past my sleeping armies.. without making a sound. I guess the French general's name must be Houdini.. and this is the greatest escape since Steve McQueen rode a motorcycle. Actually, this is the most laughable outcome I have yet seen.

the lights are on but nobody's home...
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I had only a 32% of even inflicting some hits as an army and a corps tip toe out of Aachen...
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I have started a thread about this event here. Please add your comments if you also feel this outcome is totally unrealistic...

Now onto some real action... since I was repulsed from Brest Litovsk a month ago I have been planning how to take and hold this key city at the junction of my German and Austrian armies... perhaps even trapping some Russian armies in a pocket in the process... Who do you call when you need an unwavering assault? That's right... the Invincible Von Kluck!! He's done it again.. the Russians are evicted from Brest Litovsk and are now between two of my forces converging from the north and the south... because at the same time Von Hausen and the Austrians moved up into Lukow.. although the Russian army there retreated before we could engage them... getting very good at going backwards these Ruskies...

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As Mick Jagger sang once "Jumpin Jack flash.. it's a gas, gas, gas..." and my first attempt to use chemical warfare... chlorine gas... is a flop. I targeted the army in Lukow.. but they moved too quickly... all we gassed were a few unfortunate Polish cows who happened to wander near the battle zone...

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One piece of good news, in addition to laying siege to Brest Litovsk, is that the garrison in Lomza surrendered.. There were only 300 of them left but apparently nobody told them they could just stroll out and slip thru my lines like the 20,000 French did in Aachen... at least I get a NM boost from this...

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Along the Austrian sector the front is quiet...

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"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

It seems to be the month for letting the enemy slip away so I move my armies out of Cattaro. This was a solution I suggested to my opponents after we realised that a bug in the game engine wouldn't allow the BEF to gain any military control in Cattaro. Retreating cost me dearly in casualties... but I don't want to win this game because of a flaw in the program... I want to win it fairly.. so next turn I will let them board their transports and go back to sunning themselves on the beaches of Malta.

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Elsewhere in the Balkans it is quiet. Snug and cozy in their mountain hideaway the Serbs don't appear to have even noticed the 90,000 dead tommies strewn across the beach in Cattaro... good allies the Serbs....

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"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

Yes, in response to this huge loop hole that allows large forces to just walk away from sieges, we have made a house rule that you can't leave a besieged city unless relieved by a friendly force. Too late for the boys from Aachen though.. they pulled off a great escape... even individual units of artillery, supply wagons, signals units and aeroplanes just tip toed right past my two besieging armies...

"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

I've posted on the bug forum in response to your siege issue, I think I know what the problem is and it should be relatively easy to correct.

In terms of your PBEM, it may turn out fortunate for the French to have escaped to maintain some level of balance, had those forces feel to siege in Aachen I'm not sure the Western Entente had a chance to really recover.

After pushing two Russian armies out of Brest Litovsk I see an opportunity for encirclement. I leave Gallwitz in BL to lay siege to the fortress city and press forward with Von Kluck and Bulow's armies into the most likely escape route for the Russians: Wlodawa. The Austrians under Komarow push north to seal off the only other escape route at Lubertow. I also rush Der Marwitz to north of Brest Litovsk on the main rail line from Minsk to protect against a possible counter attack from that direction. Von Lissingen has been rushed back from the Balkan front and takes up a position to guard Komarow's right flank in Crasnik... again astride the main rail link with the Russian armies to the south east. The result of two important battles in Wlodawa is that the Russian forces splinter into three main groups. The situation of the Russian 6th and 2nd armies plus the 29th Corps are shown below:

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As predicted Kluck and Bulow smashed into the retreating Russian armies at Wlodawa:

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The dangerous position of the Russian 6th Army is made clear in this picture using the supply filter map. The only region through which the 6th army can be supplied is Lubertow where the Austrians presently are taking control... in addition Brusilov's 2nd army has zero military control left in Wlodawa. As a result he will have to attack next turn and he is badly outnumbered....

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The Russian 6th Army looks doomed. The only thing that can save it is the game engine itself. It is way too easy for armies to pass right through enemy territory and to escape pursuing armies in the game than IRL. In one of the pics above you will notice an unguarded Russian munitions supply train calmly walking right through my lines at Brest Litovsk... evasion values seem to be set too high in EAW... this needs to be looked at.

Further to the north I spy two Russian armies. One has moved into Koschedair placing Von Quast's army at Wilna in a potentially dangerous situation with Russian armies to the west and to the east. Even further north a large Russian force under Rennekampf (freshly recovered from injuries received at the battle of Kowno) is moving south from Riga into Lithuania. I left a cavalry division in the far north to give me advance warning of such a move. Northern Prussia is undefended with my armies fully engaged in Poland but I calculate that I have at least two turns before the Russians can threaten Koenigsberg.

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"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

The last of the French forces stroll out of Aachen and walk past 100,000 apparently blind Germans besieging the city... I lose the opportunity for an important surrender and national morale boost due to a big flaw in the game... besieged armies can not be trapped inside cities in EAW.... at least Aachen is back in German hands and my right flank is looking secure for now. The western front is a holding operation while I try to take as much territory away from the Russians as I can. Newly reinforced by the large army that was garrisoning Aachen the French are massing some significant numbers along the border here... this has always been a delicate balancing act.. I expect a new French offensive in the spring... and they now have gas warfare as well...

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In the Balkans we wave cheerio to the departing BEF... I know I will live to regret this later... but I have my honour and to massacre them on the beach wasn't fair given the faulty game mechanics...

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"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

My organisation and mobilsation of the Ottoman armies continue.. the Ottoman Empire covers a HUGE area... even with trains it takes a while to get around. After sending my 3-star generals to get their orders from Enver Pasha's theatre HQ in Erzincan I notice that their stats have worsened. Could this be because Enver is a 2-0-0 CinC? If so I may have to detach my generals again... the command point boost from 24 to 48 is very handy but I also need good commanders with decent stats. On the Armenian front I reinforce Erzerum which is an Entente objective. I plan to wait until the winter snow has passed before attempting an offensive here.. hopefully the Russians are thinking the same. In Constantinople I also assume a defensive posture... at least until Bulgaria joins my side and this front can become more active.

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The other active front is way down south in the Levant. Here I am starting to build up forces for an offensive into Egypt. Cairo is an objective city for me. I know that the BEF are currently nursing their wounds in Malta.. I must strike quickly before they can reinforce Egypt...

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Over on the Persian Gulf I sent my army sitting in Baghdad to capture Kuwait city... in about 50 years this place will be worth a fortune as the oil industry booms...

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In the colonies I am under siege in Qingtao, Lome etc... all colonies that will inevitably fall and cost me NM... Von Letto comes back from probation next turn... maybe he can do something to stem the tide...

Finally, perhaps the most significant development this turn is on the diplomatic front. Italy is at 100% Entente alignment... so they will join the war next turn.

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This early entry has taken me by surprise. I currently have nobody guarding that border. This pic shows the regions that I need to cover... if I can get there fast enough I can pen the Italians in behind those mountains... at least until they board their transports and go looking for trouble.. the border I must defend is marked in red...

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"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

clandini5 wrote:just my opinion sir, but I do believe if you stacked your 3 star generals with Enver Pasha (2-0-0) their stats go down, similarly George B McClellan has a similar effect (among others).

Thanks. Yes, I think some poor commanders do have a negative affect. They're not stacked with Enver but attached to him. I'll try detaching to see if their stats go back up...

"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

First a look at how things developed outside of Brest Litovsk. The Russian 2nd army attempted a break out from its ongoing encirclement in the direction of Brest Litovsk. This resulted in two battles in Biala and Brest Litovsk with the 2nd army.. which was forced back on Biala.The mystery is that after the dust settled the 6th army under Brusilov is now also in Biala. The turn began with Brusilov in Wladawa needing to gain military control... this should have triggered an automatic battle with my two armies in the same region. According to the manual a force with zero military control in a region will auto switch to offensive posture to gain MC... just another strange result from the enigmatic game mechanics. Anyway, the end result looks very promising with both the 2nd and 6th armies now cut off and surrounded in Biala. The 29th Corps escaped and fell back to the east at Kowel.

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Playing ping pong with a Russian army... the 2nd army was attacked by the Austrians from the south in Biala..

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Then the 2nd army attempted to reach Brest Litovsk and was repulsed.. it fell back on Biala. It was joined by the 6th army falling back from Wlodawa.

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Forces under Der Marwitz, Linsingen and Kathen all push out eastward. My goal is to threaten the line of retreat of the three Russian armies along the Austrian border... perhaps making them fall back.. or even better: catching them in a trap.

Marwitz catches up with the retreating 29th Corps at Stara.. inflicting casualties at a ratio of more than 3 to 1.. good leaders are worth their weight in gold..

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As Von Linsingen's Corps pushes north east to Chelm to protect my advancing right flank, the Austrian army under Komarow moves into Crasnick and collides with the Russian 3rd army which has moved out of Rawa Ruska. He was heading north west which must have been an attempt to open a path to the trapped 2nd and 6th Russian armies... the result are two bloody engagements with the Russians getting the worst of it.. interesting that when the roar of battle dies nobody is left in possession of Crasnick...

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This could have uncovered the rail link to Lublin and Ivangorod but fortunately I ordered Brudermann's Austrian army back from the Balkans last turn and they are now covering Lublin and in a good position to continue the drive east into the Russian left flank.

Attachments

"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

It's been a busy turn on this now very active eastern front. The Russian armies sitting in front of Lemburg have finally sprung to life... perhaps it is the affect of the spring weather. As seen above the Russian 3rd army has moved east. However, the other main Russian army in front of Lemburg has withdrawn and disappeared into the fog of war. It could be maneuvering to support the Russian army in front of Czernowitz for a combined attack or it could have been sent north to join the Russian build up in Lithuania... a mystery... these Russian forces have become more mobile and less predictable.. I will need to watch my flanks carefully... Wide shot below showing the direction of my advances east across the Russian lines of communication.. plus the mysterious movements of Russian armies further east..

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"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

As the snow melts in Lithuania and northern Poland the action heats up. With Von Quast in the middle of a pincer move by three Russian armies I order him to attack west into Koschedair... I don't like to surrender the initiative.., and sometimes the best form of defence is a strong offence. Outnumbered 1.5 : 1 Quast exceeds my expectations and gives Samsanov a bloody nose... Quast is a 5-4-2 leader with the school of offence special trait.. again showing the importance of good leadership and choosing the right commander for the right task..

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Quast gained our side one national morale point for this awesome victory...

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So this is the situation as it stands in the far north. I moved Von Hausen up by rail to protect Wilna while I sent Von Quast west to deal with Samsanov. I may need to send further reinforcements as Rennenkampf moves further south and my cavalry fall back... winning a skirmish with some Russian cavalry. Wilna has Russian armies to the north and east.. potentially four Russian armies converging on my two armies here..

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Attachments

"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)